Ecology - AP Bio Flashcards

361978503	Population	- individuals of one species living in one area, ex: all the spotted owls in Oregon
361978504	Community	- all the organisms living in one area, example: Atlanta Georgia
361978505	Ecosystem	- all theorganisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact
361978506	Biosphere	- the global ecosystem
361978507	Biotic Factors	- living things. All the organisms that are part of any individual's environment
361978508	Abiotic Factors	- non living and physical factors such as temperature, light, water, and nutrients
361978509	Properties of populations	- size, density, dispersion, survivorship curves, age structure diagrams
361978510	Dispersion	- A property of populations, this is the pattern of spacing of individuals within the are the population inhabits. Patterns include clumped, uniform, and random.
361978511	Clumped Dispersion Pattern	The most common, organisms travel in numbers because there's safety in numbers.
361978512	Uniform Dispersion Pattern	where they are aligned in rows. For example, certain plants secrete toxins that keep away other plants that would compete for limited resources.
361978513	Random Dispersion Pattern	- Occurs in the absence of any special attractions or repulsions. For example, trees are spaced randomly in a forest.
361978514	Survivorship / Mortality Curves	- I type = success of the young, but high mortality in old age (humans). II type = Organisms have a death rate that is constant over their life span (hydra and reptiles). III type = Organisms show a high death rate among the young; these are sea-dwelling animals that fertilize internally (clams).
361978515	Food Chain	- A pathway along which energy (in the form of food) is transferred from one trophic (food) level to another. Producer  primary consumer  secondary consumer  tertiary consumer. Never more than 4 to 5 trophic levels because energy is lost from one level to the next. Relies on decomposers (bacteria and fungi) to recycle nutrients, although they are never shown in a food chain.
361978516	Pyramid of food / Pyramid of energy	- model for the food chain that demonstrates the loss of energy along the chain. Producers (green plants) have access to the most energy and only transfer 10% of that up the pyramid. Primary consumers (like grasshoppers) transfer 10% of the energy they received up the pyramid. Secondary c onsumers (like frogs) transfer 10% of their received energy to the tertiary consumers at the top (like hawks).
361978517	Trophic efficiency	- The percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next. Usually ranging from 5- 20%.
361978518	Population Growth	- The carrying capacity can increase or decrease as the environmental conditions change. Starting with exponential growth, an population will grow until limiting factors are met and the carrying capacity is exceeded. Then the death phase will limit the population into a stable population at the carrying capacity for the environment.
361978519	Limits on population growth	- Density dependent factors increase directly as the population increases (competition for food, buildup of wastes, predation, disease). Density independent factors are unrelated to population density (earthquakes, storms, naturally occurring floods and fires, loss of habitat due to deforestation or climate change).
361978520	Growth patterns with r strategists vs. k strategists	- r strategists have many small young with little or no parenting, rapid maturation, and reproduce once (like insects... short life history pattern). K strategists have few large young per individual, intensive parenting, slow maturation, reproduce many times (mammals... slow life history pattern).
361978521	Carrying Capacity	- The number of individuals that can occupy one area at a particular time. Represented as K.
361978522	Biomes	- major ecosystems of Earth classified by predominant vegetation: marine, tropical rain forest, desert, temperate grasslands, temperate deciduous, taiga, tundra.
361978523	Marine Biome	- largest biome, most stable with little variation in temperature. Provides most of Earth's food and oxygen. Divided into regions classified by amount of light they receive: Photic zone = upper layer and receives light. Aphotic zone = little light penetrates. Benthic zone = bottom.
361978524	Tropical Rain Forest	- near equator with abundant rainfall. Covers 4% of earth but accounts for 20% of world food production. Most diversity of species and available niches. High, dense canopy; dimly lit forest floor. Many trees covered with epiphytes, photosynthetic plants that grow on other trees rather than supporting themselves.
361978525	Desert	- less than 10" of rainfall per year. Experiences most extreme temperature fluctuations. Characteristic plants have shallow roots to capture water during sudden short downpours. (cactus, sagebrush, creosote, mesquite).
361978526	Temperature Grasslands	- Covers vast areas of the world. Low rainfall makes area inhospitable for forests. Grazing animals such as bison, wildebeest, gazelle.
361978527	Temperate Deciduous Forest	- We are here! Northeast region of North America. South of the Taiga. Leaves drop in winter. Soil is rich in humus, which comes from decomposition of thick layers of leaf litter (squirresl, foxes, deer, and bear).
361978528	Taiga	- Northern Canada and much of world's northern region. Landscape is dotted with lakes, ponds, and bogs. Very cold winters. (moose, bear, elk, lynx).
361978529	Tundra	- Far northern parts of globe. Permafrost has a permenantly frozen subsoil. Called the frozen desert. Although the quantity of animals is high, there are few species = low biodiversity. (many insects, reindeer, caribou, arctic wolves, polar bears).
361978530	Gause's Principle of Competitive Exclusion	- if two species share an ecological niche (the same resources), they will compete, and one will not survive.
361978531	Ecological Niche	- what an organisms feeds on and its nutritional role in an ecosystem.
361978532	Character displacement	- competing organisms of similar species evolve different characteristics to coexist in an environment. (Galapagos finches evolved different beak sizes to avoid competing for food).
361978533	Resource Partitioning	- one species evolves, through natural selection, to exploit different resources in order to survive. This does not necessarily involve the formation of a new species.
361978534	How organisms interact	- competition, predation, mutualism (symbiosis), commensalism (symbiosis), parasitism (symbiosis).
361978535	Symbiosis	- organisms of different species that live in direct contact. Includes mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
361978536	Mutualism	- both organisms benefit (+,+). (bacteria in human intestine produce vitamins)
361978537	Commensalism	- one benefits and the other remains unaffected (+,0). Whales and barnacles.
361978538	Parasitism	- one benefits while the other is harmed (+,-). Tapeworm in humans
361978539	Plant defenses	- plants evolved spines, thorns, and chemical toxins, such as morphine, strychnine, and nicotine, against herbivores.
361978540	Animal defenses	- active defenses such as fighting or fleeing from predators. Passive defenses such as cryptic coloration and camouflage.
361978541	Cryptic coloration and camouflage	- animals and plants can gain significant advantage through obvious coloration. Aposematic coloration = bright red or orange coloration warns possible predators that this animal is poisonous. Batesian mimicry = copycat coloring by one harmless animal mimics the coloring of an animal that is poisonous. Mullerian mimicry = two or more poisonous species mimic each other to gain an advantage of combined numbers.
361978542	Water Cycle	- water evaporates from the land, forms clouds, and then rains over oceans and lands. Water evaporates from the land but most evaporates from plants by transpiration.
361978543	Carbon cycle	- cell respiration by animals and bacterial decomposers adds CO2 to the air. Burning fossil fuels adds CO2 to the air. Photosynthesis removes CO2 from the air and adds O2.
361978544	Nitrogen cycle	- nitrogen fixing bacteria live in nodules in the roots of legumes and convert free nitrogen into NH4+ (ammonium ion). Nitrifying bacteria convert NH4+ into nitrites and then to nitrates. Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates into free atmospheric nitrogen. Bacterial decomposers convert organic nitrogen back to NH4+.
361978545	Negative human impact on Earth	- Eutrophication of lakes, acid rain, toxins in the food chain, global warming, depleting the ozone layer, destruction of habitat, introduction of new species into habitats where there are no natural predators.
361978546	Eutrophication of lakes	- runoff of sewage, fertilizers, and manure from pastures increases nutrients in lakes and causes excessive growth of algae and other plants. As large populations of photosynthetic organisms die, organic material accumulates at bottom of lake, and decomposers use up oxygen as they break down excess organic matter. With depeleted oxygen, more organisms die and more decomposition occurs, further depleting oxygen; more matter accumulates on lake bottom. Ultimately the lake disappears.
361978547	Acid Rain	- Caused by pollutants in the air from combustion of fossil fuels. Nitric, nitrous, sulfurous and sulfuric acids. pH of 5.6. Damages lakes and destroys ancient stone architecture.
361978548	Toxins in the Food Chain	- also called biological magnification. Poisons, such as pesticides, that enter the food chain become amplified throughout the chain; each level accumulates more toxins than the level before it. Example: in the 1950's DDT entered the food chain and the bald eagle, at the top of a chain, almost became extinct as a result.
361978549	Global Warming	- Excessive burning of fossil fuels causes high concentrations of CO2 and water vapor in the air. These absorb much of the infrared radiation reflecting off the land (greenhouse effect), causing the average temperature of Earth to rise. An increase of 1 degree C worldwide could cause polar ice caps to melt, raising sea level; New York, LA and Miami could be under water in the future.
361978550	Depleting Ozone Layer	- The accumulation in the air of chlorofluorocarbons, refrigerants, and chemicals from aerosol cans has formed a hole in the protective ozone layer; this allows more UV light to reach Earth, which has caused an increase in skin cancer.
361978551	Habitat Destruction	- Massive destruction of habitats throughout the world has been brought about by agriculture, urban development, mining, forestry, and environmental pollution. Example: northern spotted owl of Pacific Northwest was threatened with extinction due to deforestation (habitat destruction).
361978552	Problems with introducing a new species	- "Killer" Honeybee - this bee was brought from Africa to Brazil in 1956 to produce a better honey; it escaped by accident, is spreading throughout the Americas, and has caused the death of some humans. The Zebra Mussel - this mollusk is native to Asia but accidentally was transplanted to the U.S. probably by ship; it's population has exploded and is causeing millions of dollars of damage by clogging pipes in various lakes and rivers; it has also caused the extinction of several indigenous species by outcompeting them. (also Asian Shore Crab, Mnemiopsis Leidyi, Caulerpa taxifolia, Asian long horned beetle are current examples)
361978553	Biotic Potential	- The maximum rate at which a population could increase under ideal conditions; influenced by different factors: Age at which reproduction begins, length of time organisms can reproduce, number of reproductive periods in a lifetime, number of offspring an organism is capable of producing at one time.